When Leanne slowly came awake the next morning, she thought of Kelli. The thought of her knowing that, barely two days later, she was already in another woman’s bed made her smile. Even if nothing serious would come of it, it was still an amusing thought.
Leanne turned her head toward the other side of the bed. Cassandra wasn’t there. The sound of running water told her she was in the master bathroom, which was located off the master bedroom.
Leanne was both relieved and disappointed to know that Cassandra was adamantly against getting anything serious going. No relationship, no problems. That much was nice to know. But Leanne couldn’t help but feel drawn to the tall, dark, and lovely woman whose life seemed to be shrouded in mystery.
Then something else hit her. Oh, my God! How could I forget all about my job? Have I really been that preoccupied? Leanne tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed. Her efforts were rewarded with a bolt of pain, reminding her that yes, she had really been tied up. Almost literally.
The bathroom door opened up and a puff of steam emerged along with a towel-clad Cassandra.
“Morning, Cass.”
“Morning, hun. How are you feeling?”
“The same, but it just hit me that I have to call my boss and let him know I’ll be out for a while.”
“Oh yeah, you do have a job and a life, after all, don’t you?”
“Only problem is he’ll want a doctor’s note. Should I make up a story and go to a doctor and get one?”
“You can if you insist, but a doctor’s likely to be much harder to deceive. I think instead you should just let your leg heal on its own, and as long as no emergency of any kind erupts, I’d avoid the doctors for now.”
“But if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. My savings will be long gone and so will my job, by the time I’m able to get around again. What do I do until I’m able to find work again?”
Cassandra grabbed a pair of navy sweats and a shirt from her dresser drawer and headed into the bathroom, keeping the door open but keeping out of view as she changed. Leanne wondered if she was just shy or if she had something to hide.
“Well, you did say during one of our conversations that you wished you’d become more than just a waitress. While waitressing is fine, since somebody’s gotta serve the food, I agree that you can do better and you deserve better too, being as smart as you are.”
“Yeah, but that’s easier said than done,” Leanne said from the bed.
“I know, but what better time to start than now? Your girlfriend is gone, your apartment is gone… might as well dump the job too, while the opportunity is golden and change directions altogether in life.”
“What direction do I head in, though?”
“That’s up to you, Leanne. Only you can know that.”
“Where do I live and what do I eat until then? By the end of today, I’ll have lost about a hundred dollars.”
Cassandra stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed as she towel-dried her hair and said, “I hate to clean.”
“So?” Leanne said, not sure what that had to do with anything.
“Well, once you get better, you can be my live-in housekeeper if you want. That’s how you’ll earn room and board as well as food. Then you can either go to school or start some other job somewhere else if you can’t get your old one back and decide for sure you want to move on from waitressing.”
“Wow, that’s an incredibly generous offer, Cass!”
Cassandra shrugged. “The house payments and utilities are basically the same with or without you, there’s plenty of food to feed one more, but cleaning is something I’ve always despised, even though the house isn’t that big. It’s worth it just for the few hours a week you’d save me.”
“Want me to do the laundry, too?”
“Wow, now you’re the one being generous. That would give me another free hour or two to relax on my ass with movies or computer games. If you’re serious, I’ll take the offer.”
“You got it,” Leanne said, the happiest she’d been since Kelli broke the news to her about trading her in for her new boyfriend. Then again, how did she know just how “new” he really was? The two could’ve been seeing each other for months.
Cassandra started rummaging through her black leather handbag and said, “If you want, we can get some things from your apartment today before work, after you’ve eaten, gotten dressed, and called your boss.”
“That’d be great. I’m sure you’re sick of washing my underwear every day and loaning me your shirts.”
“Yeah, my shirts are a wee bit big on you,” Cassandra said as she handed her five crisp twenty-dollar bills.
“What’s this for?” Leanne asked curiously.
“To cover your lost wages.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Leanne insisted. “You’ve already done so much for me as it is, and well, just maybe you really are helping me to a turning point of sorts in life.”
“Yeah, maybe. They say things happen for a reason. But you’re also doing me a huge favor by keeping your mouth shut.”
“I’d still like to know just what it is I’m supposedly keeping my mouth shut about.”
“I know, I know. In due time, my friend, in due time.”
Friend? “So what do I do once I start making my own money again?”
“You start saving it for your own place. I’ll be selling mine soon enough and going back to Italy.”
Leanne was both shocked and disappointed. When Cassandra noticed the expression on her face, she said, “Better not get too attached. Consider this a business deal of sorts. You’re doing me the favor of cleaning the house and washing the laundry, and I’m doing you the favor of providing you food and shelter till you get your independence back.”
An hour later, Leanne was directing Cassandra to the apartment she’d spent the last two years in with Kelli.
At the door to the ground-floor apartment, Leanne pulled out her key ring, the only thing she’d been carrying the night Cassandra had run her down. She opened the door to find Kelli sitting on the couch, laughing heartily along with a guy who appeared to be either a light-skinned black person or a dark-skinned Hispanic. Leanne didn’t know, and she didn’t care. She just wanted some of her shit.
A moment of awkward silence filled the room.
“Just came to pick up some things,” Leanne told Kelli.
The young man seemed to shrink into the couch with embarrassment.
“Uhhh… ok,” Kelli said. Eyeing Cassandra, she said, “Who’s this?”
“My new business partner.”
“New business partner?” Kelli asked with confusion.
“You dumped me, Kelli, so why does it matter?”
A flash of anger replaced Kelli’s look of confusion. “Good gosh, girl, can’t a person be curious?”
“Yeah, I suppose,” said Leanne, limping into the bedroom to gather her clothes.
“Why are you limping?”
“Sprained my ankle.”
A second later, Kelli appeared in the doorway where she could see both Leanne and her mysterious friend at the same time.
“Listen, Kel, I wish you the best. I really do. Just please hang onto the rest of my stuff until I can pick it up.”
Still not sure what to make of the situation and amazed at how well her ex-girlfriend was taking things, she simply shrugged and said, “Ok.”
Kelli watched as Leanne stuffed as many of her clothes as would fit into a duffle bag. She came across a pink T-shirt in particular and asked, “Is this one yours or mine?”
“I think it’s yours. Seriously, who’s the tough-looking Italian chick?”
“Someone I met the night you broke the news to me.”
Kelli’s eyes widened. “You already living with her, girl? What if she’s crazy?”
Leanne zipped up her bag and approached Kelli. “What if your new man shoots blanks?”
Leanne stepped out of the room and headed toward the door where Cassandra still remained, hand over her mouth as if she might cough. “Good luck to you,” she told Kelli’s new boyfriend.
The guy looked up at her as if to say, “Are you serious?”
As soon as they were back in Cassandra’s SUV, Cassandra burst out laughing. Leanne’s brows knitted together. “What? Was wishing him good luck that funny?”
“No, no,” she said through fits of laughter. “The thing about the blanks was what was hilarious after she asked what if I were crazy.”
Leanne laughed as well and said, “Did you hear the part about the tough-looking Italian chick?”
Cassandra grinned.
“In a sexy kinda way, you do look tough and intimidating. I’d be scared shitless if you were pissed at me. Otherwise, I’m sure I’d feel safe with you.
“Well, at five ten, a hundred and seventy-five pounds, I guess you would.”
“I’m only one ten.”
“That ain’t shit,” said Cassandra.
They both erupted in laughter again and returned to Cassandra’s house, where Leanne called her boss and then her parents. Luckily for her, her parents didn’t press her for much detail as to the “friend” she was staying with. They probably assumed she was with Alexis, a girl she’d known since junior high.
At one point, Cassandra told her, “I’m going to leave you to do your own thing so I can get in some alone time and maybe play some games online before mom arrives and I have to leave for work.”
“Ok,” Leanne said, picking up the book she was reading.
“Since you don’t drive, I’ll give you a ride to pick up more things sometime during the week.”
“Ok,” Leanne absently said again. Then it hit her, though Cassandra had already left the room.
How the hell did the strong-looking nurse know she didn’t drive?
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